Pocketbook

Periodca. 1800 - 1820

MediumSilk and cardboard

Dimensions4.5 × 4.5 × 0.38 in. (11.4 × 11.4 × 1 cm)

ClassificationsNeedlework

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Charles G. Bennett and Miss Louise Hartshorne, 1935

Object number857

DescriptionA small square pocketbook with continuous front and back panels and attached rounded foldover front flap. The case is covered in pale yellow silk with a woven pattern stripe over cardboard stiffeners and lined with cream silk. The pocketbook opens to reveal a center divider, of cardboard with cream silk covering, and pairs of light tan silk side gussets. The pocketbook is bound with dark green woven silk ribbon. Dark green silk ribbon forms a "Y" closure strap attached to a single long ribbon which wraps around the body of the pocketbook.
Curatorial RemarksThis woman's small pocketbook, also called a notecase, case, or card case, is a variation on the popular embroidered cases of the same time period. Made of scraps of dress silks, this small item would be used to hold a variety of personal items, such as currency or sewing items.NotesMiss Louise Hartshorne (1866 - 1956), the donor, made her home from 1876 to 1929 at Locustwood, a grand house built between 1830 and 1832 in Middletown village, Monmouth County, by her grandfather Charles J. Hendrickson. Locustwood became a residence for single women from the extended Hendrickson / Hartshorne family, including Mary Matilda Hendrickson (1835 - 1893), Ella Hendrickson (1846 - 1929), their first cousin Julia Wikoff (1838 - 1917) and niece Louise. When the house was broken up and sold in 1929, its contents were distributed among several heirs, including Miss Louise. She and her sister, Susannah Hartshorne Bennett, gave many inherited items from Locustwood to the Association. For more information on this estate and the Hendrickson / Hartshorne family, see accession number 1382. The ladies of Locustwood enjoyed their needlework, and a number of charming small embroidered items were donated to the Association's collection.

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